No green beer for me this year due to another bout of snow and a yucky cold.
But, I have to admit that I love St. Paddy’s Day! When I was in junior high, I was sent to the office for a violation of the dress code. We weren’t allowed to wear buttons with sayings, and I had about seventy Irish buttons all over my clothes. It took me a good half hour to remove them all. They didn’t say anything about the pointed leprechaun shoes or the bright green wig though.
The fascination with all things green and Irish continued throughout the years. When I was in my early twenties, I went to Ireland and decided I wanted to move there. Clearly, that didn’t happen, so I settled on getting a leprechaun tattoo instead.
What is it about St. Patrick’s Day that makes everyone happy? I’ve never been to a pub when fights break out. People share their excitement and wear green sparkles and goofy hats and pointed shoes. Or seventy buttons.
It’s a day full of possibilities. It’s full of magic. It’s a time when adults can cling to childish imaginings and just blame it on the pint of green beer.
In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day and all things lucky, I have compiled a short list of lucky legends (not all Irish):
1. The Four Leaf Clover—stands for faith, hope, love and luck.
2. Horseshoes—preferably made of iron, hang this sucker facing up, so that luck can fill it and not spill out.
3. Dreamcatchers—these will catch the bad dreams before they enter the home.
4. Evil Eye—protects you against evil.
5. Rabbit’s Foot—this is supposed to be lucky, but I think not…you have to catch the poor unsuspecting bunny at night on a full moon in a cemetery and cut off the left hind foot while it’s still living in order to ward off evil magic and have good luck. I call that bad, Bad, BAD karma.
Just remember to never open an umbrella inside the house or you’ll be asking for bad luck to rain down on you.
There is another superstition involving the number 13 and the bad luck it brings. Some architects won’t end stairs on the 13th step or elevators on the 13th floor. Some people are so scared by the number 13 that they actually have a phobia name for it: triskaidekaphobia.
My daughter Kaitlin disagrees heartily with this phobia. Her golden birthday (when you’re date and age are the same), will fall this year on Friday, June 13th. She’s been planning this exciting birthday party for years. I think it’s all in how we look at things. Are things in and of themselves lucky or unlucky? Or do we make them that way through the power of our own suggestion?
I happen to disagree with the number 13 being unlucky, and I’m sure the Golden Heart® finalists from last year will attest to that because they’re named the Lucky 13s. Throughout the past year, we’ve become friends who support each other on a shared journey, and we never would have met if it hadn’t been for a Lucky Year–2013. ☺
I’ll leave you with a great Irish saying that sums up my feelings about all my wonderful writing friends: “Friends are like four-leaf clovers—hard to find but lucky to have.”
Do you believe in any good luck charms or legends?
